Cry of the Hunted Goddess
by Rositta2017
Summary: Bullies. Gotham Academy has several. They're in the cafeteria, schoolyard, gym. But what if one of them was once a friend of yours?


This is what I like to call a 'personal fic'-a story that you draw from your own experiences. I read several YJ stories where characters act of doing several things based off the author's own childhood or dreams. I love them so much, so I decided to do my own with elements that were once personal but worth sharing. This originates from my time in elementary school but with darker traits and treatment. I did watch 'Secrets' but I wrote this first. Also, can you please check out my profile and contribute to the poll? I want to be a writer when I grow up and especially practice entertaining.

Disclaimer: why the long hiatus from March to September?

* * *

><p>Megan was not the first girl who declared Artemis as a certain sister.<p>

The ironic thing was, she was the first girl who actually trusted and treated the archer like a beloved sibling when Jade had failed.

The first girl to actually declare her a sister was Alexandra Stafford. Arty and Alex met in Mrs. Fredrick's second grade classroom and naturally had a healthy relationship, but it wasn't until they met again two years later in Mrs. McKellar's room that they became instant magnets. They did everything together at recess, finished homework at the same dining room, and Ms. Crock gave up keeping track of their numerous slumber parties they had before Mr. Crock forbade sleepovers. Then the girls met after school to shop and laugh. For Artemis, Alex was the one person aside from her mother who made her feel relaxed even without a father or her real sister.

Flash-forward to Artemis's first day of school at the academy she earned a scholarship for:

Artemis walked into her homeroom/first period classroom, which was Mr. de Lancie Algebra II. Lucky for her, Bette was assigned to sit beside her (especially after that creepy freshman scenario) and Artemis wrote her name in her assigned book.

"Arty?" asked a familiar voice.

The girl with the blond ponytail looked up and realized Alex Stafford was standing beside her. "Alex!" she squealed jumping up. They embraced tightly and Artemis pulled away. "How come you go to school here?" Alex asked.

"Scholarship," Artemis said rather happily. She smiled until their teacher, who had a red face and bald spot walked in. "You in this class?" she asked.

Alex smiled. "Yep. Meet me at the cafeteria during lunch and we can compare schedules and activities!"

"I'll be there," Artemis smiled. Alex sat in the back row. Artemis sighed happily but her mouth faded when she noticed the…unusual look in Bette's eyes. "Hey, what's up?" she asked feeling rather pepped for the day.

Bette looked cautiously at Alex and gave Artemis a peculiar look. "You actually know her?"

"We were friends in elementary school," the archer explained. "We were like sisters."

Bette's eyes widen. "Are you kidding me? Artemis, look, let me give you-no, wait, let me tell you a little stor-"

"Settle down, class," their teacher wheezed. "Let me take attendance!"

The voice sank. He coughed and squinted at his attendance booklet. "Okay…Reyes, Jamie?"

"Here," a boy rose his hand in a Southern accent.

"Where are you from?"

"El Paso, Texas," he chirped. Artemis glanced at him and swallowed. He was kind of cute…

"Brown, Stephanie…"

"Here," a blond girl said.

"Stafford, Alexandra…"

"Here," she said winking at Artemis.

"Kane, Mary Elizabeth…"

"Here," Bette said in a biting tone.

"Crock, Artemis…"

As soon as he was done, a small group of girls loudly giggled. Artemis felt her face heat up.

"Here," she replied in a shaky tone.

"Can I help you girls?" he asked peering at them. They giggled louder so Jamie slowly moved his desk away.

One of them shook her head. "N-no," she laughed.

He shrugged and continued on. When he was done with "Todd, Jason" ("Scholarship, like you," Bette whispered at the oily boy's snarl), she slid a piece of paper under Artemis's arm. She unfolded the letter.

_Wait for me after class. Bk_

Artemis nodded and flipped her book open.

When math was over, Bette grabbed Artemis' arm and walked out while the giggling girls were still packing. "Okay, Bette, you have my attention," she whispered, "what's wrong and…why were they laughing at me?"

Bette licked her lips and guided her to P.E. where the gym smelled foul. "Okay, those girls who were laughing at you-they're Madison North, Amanda Spisak, and Danielle Wallace. Last year, they spread a rumor about that freshman who took your picture-they said his parents abandoned him because he lives with a foster father whereas they actually died."

"Oh," Artemis whispered. "I'm sorry."

Mrs. Cooper handed the girls a fresh set of shorts and T-shirt along with a sports bra and sneakers while they walked into the locker room. "They lied his parents overdosed on drugs and it was so horrible-"

"Wait, sorry, Bette, I thought he was a freshman?" asked Artemis changing into the red shorts.

Bette shrugged. "I don't get it either. It's so weird, because he's so good at math he's like a Gary Stu, you know?"

Artemis tried to smile, but she remembered the laughing girls. "What happened to the boy?"

Bette was actually strong enough to change bras in public. "Well, at the beginning of the year, it was only slow, but then they began tormenting him so much he began seeing his counselor often, and then his foster father picked him up because he actually cried in class, but he didn't say who. My cousin knows the guy so she told me he threatened to hurt the girls if they continued bothering his boy. They stopped, but then I figured they were going to look for a new set of prey."

After changing shirts, Artemis looked up and saw one of the laughing girls walk in. she ducked her head, but that did not stop her from bursting into laughter.

"That's Amanda," Bette whispered. "She plays varsity field hockey and drama, but she is a little witch."

"Hi, Bette," she snorted in a cold tone. She sneered at the new girl. "Hope your mom's wheelchair doesn't get stuck in mud!"

Artemis felt her bones melt into jelly as Amanda's Squidward laugh picked up.

"You okay?" Bette asked.

"S-s-she k-knows…" was all she could say. "But…how…"

"Everyone in this grade knows," Bette said pulling her hair back.

The archer's face paled. "How did you-"

"My friend Babs told me as soon as everybody else knew," Bette said. "I don't know how, but somebody spread it around. He actually told me when I walked up to greet you. It was…kind of stiff."

Arty looked down as she changed shoes.

As today was the first day, the teacher decided to have the students run two laps before dodge-ball. When a sweaty and red-faced archer leaned toward the water fountain for a drink, a hand slammed down against her head. "Hey look, everybody! The new girl's kissing a water fountain!" Amanda shrieked.

The girls but Bette grimaced and snorted. "Ewe!"

"What's wrong with you?"

"Practicing how to kiss a guy?"

"Didn't your mom teach you not to spread germs?"

"She's trying to give us a disease!"

Anger gnawed at her throat and she lifted her dripping face up. "Ewe! Now she wants to kiss us!"

Bette walked to the bathroom and handed her paper towels while saying how she should try and take action because Amanda did worse to other girls, one even attempting suicide. Unfortunately, at the game, Amanda was on their team and purposely 'tripped' as an excuse to grab the blond ponytail and thrown her against the polished wood. The coach was talking to a boy's coach, so she was unaware one of her new students was almost ready to attack.

* * *

><p>The bullying did not stop there. The next day, she walked up to her locker and recognized Danielle's handwriting of SLOB! CRIPPLED! NO FAMILY! WELFARE!<p>

At that moment, she was too shocked and horrified to remind herself of her new family. They were poking at her old one and she knew they were not going to stop. "I have a new family," she reminded herself. "I'm not going to let this about my mother hurt me-I still love her, and I'm not going to run away from her like my sister did."

No sooner had she said this that she realized her graphing calculator-the one Megan helped her pick out, with BBFFs painted on the cover-was gone.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Arty!" the new boy Jason called out on the courtyard one day. "Are you busy at this moment?"<p>

Actually, yes she was-she had to finish a paper and prepare for her 'extra-curricular' activity in less that ten minutes. But she smiled politely and walked over. "What's up, Jason?"

"How've you been?" he asked.

To be honest, she was not that good-Amanda was her opponent when they went to the tennis court and she slammed a ball right into her eye, which was visible swollen but unseen under the mask. Thankfully, nobody on the team noticed her pink eye.

"All right," she said sitting down. "Do you need help with something?"

"I heard about your eye," he said. "I'm sorry Amanda is such a bitch to you."

"She's not the only one," Artemis muttered under her breath. "Do you know her at all?"

Jason opened his mouth to speak, but a cold shriek froze his throat. "Jason! What do you think you're doing?"

Madison and Alex stood beside the entrance doors, looking horrified. "Jason! Don't you realize what you're doing?"

Jason looked confused. "I'm asking her to help me with German, why?"

Alex's face flushed and it was them that Artemis realized she was gripping a milkshake in Madison's hand. "Why don't you ask ME to help you with that subject?"

"Because I know she's smart, helpful, and knows better than to harass an old friend and betray her just for the fun of it," Jason spat.

Below her, the ground had turned to broken ice. "You…you told them about my mother and sister-"

Alex snorted. "What? It's nice to think MY mother is not a handicapped hobo in a crappy apartment with a lost daughter doing God-knows-what and a daughter obsessed with bows and arrows!"

Madison's laugh was like cold water. Jason's eyes narrowed. "Stay here."

"Jason, no-"

SPLAT!

Madison had thrown vanilla ice and milk over Jason's shoulder into her face. Bystanders gasped and exploded in laughter. Jason grabbed Madison's sleeve. "What is your problem?"

"Ewe, let go of me, you big grease-ball-"

"TODD!"

The four turned and saw the principal glaring viciously at the girls, her dark curly hair adding tension. "Mr. Todd, follow me to my office at this moment."

"But Mrs.-"

"NOW, YOUNG MAN!"

Jason growled and let go of Madison through the doors. As soon as they walked up the steps, Madison and Alex were pointing at Artemis. "Look! She forgot where her mouth was!"

Although everyone saw that notorious scene, they agreed and laughed until she ran to the local coffee shop and wiped the dairy off her red skin.

* * *

><p>Arty decided to go home on the bus as it was the fastest way to go home and prepare for combat training. She greeted the bus driver, walked past staring freshmen, and sat on the last seat reserved for sophomores.<p>

Madison North and Amanda Spisak sat behind her on the bus, making the girl's heart swell.

Amanda laughed as they drove up a steep hill. "Here-you want a piece of candy-"

She waved a ring pop in Artemis's face until it brushed against her eyebrows. "No candy? Oh well, you can wear it-"

And Artemis felt a sticky hard substance on the top of her head. The class laughed. She sighed and turned around. "What the hell did I ever do to you that led you to treat me like this?"

Amanda snorted. "Hello! Hearing things about your sister is just the cherry on a sundae, dumbo! I mean, why can't you just understand that real girls fight for power, not walk away?"

The truth stuck on her brain. If she fought, she would be expelled. If she was expelled, she would disappoint her mother. If she disappointed her mother, she could never look at her new family again with the thought of them and their families.

When Arty came home with the ring pop out of her hair, her mother handed her the wireless phone, and Arty listened to Bette confess her failed attempts to inform the principal, confront the girls, and her friend Babs-daughter of the poice chief Gordon-was suspended for 'fighting' with Danielle.

* * *

><p>"You're late!" Dinah boomed as Arty ran to the circle in her uniform and damp hair while the rest of her friends watched.<p>

"Sorry," she apologized. "I had to take my mom to the doctor and change."

Dinah clearly did not believe the lie, but she shrugged it off. "Okay…Conner, you're up."

Conner had improved greatly, but he was still missing techniques necessary for fighting Canary, who flung him over her shoulder and hit him on his back while Wally and Robin tried not to laugh. Conner growled, looked at his love for support, and continued.

As she watched Dinah fight Conner aggressively a horrible pang grew in her chest. It reminded her of Alex and Dani and Maddy and Amanda-

She burst into tears and ran out of the training room, the red robot and caped man in hot pursuit.

Wally and Megan were faster and saw her huddled against the couch, weeping and hiding her face under her hair. "Arty," Megan said cautiously, "are you okay?"

Artemis did not stop crying. Megan knelt down and wrapped her arms comfortingly around the blond, who sobbed on her shoulder as Megan gently rubbed her arm.

Kaldur handed her a glass of water, which shook in her hand while she struggled to drink it. "Do you want to talk about it?" Robin asked stupidly.

"I-I-I-I c-c-c-can't think-k ab-bout it, m-makes me f-feel w-worse…" she sobbed.

Her mentor walked up to her and knelt down to wipe snot dripping from her nose. "Here, blow."

She sneezed shakily and he stroked her ponytail. "Was it a bad dream?" asked Conner.

"N-n-no," she gasped.

"Was it something at school?" asked Wally.

She hastily and unconsciously nodded.

"Good, someone else hates school-"

"WALLY!"

The boy growled.

"Did it involve someone else?" asked Kaldur.

She hastily shook her head, but they knew she was lying.

"Don't worry," Megan calmed her. "We'll help you with it-"

"Don't!" Artemis hiccupped. "You can't stop her! She's too evil for me to take down at once…even in my civilian identity, I-sniff-she was once my friend, and, and-"

"Wait, is a girl bullying you?" Wally asked. She nodded in annoyance. "Oh, geez, they are everywhere…"

His least favorite teammate stared at him with puffy red eyes. "W-what?"

Wally grimaced. "I've been bullied before," he admitted. "I remember it being so horrible Aunt Iris kept telling my parents 'you let him go here to be thrown down the staircase?' They eventually pulled me out and enrolled me into another school."

"I can't do that!" the girl choked. "I made a promise to my mother that I would go-because it was an opportunity she never had…"

"Does your mom know about this?" asked Dick.

She shook her head. "They like to harass me about how my mother is in a wheelchair…that would devastate her horribly…they put candy in my hair, steal my homework, and put insects in my lunch and push it against my face…"

Wally shivered. "Why don't you tell a teacher?"

"I told my math teacher, and he moved my desk…but they still claim that I'm cheating off someone's test and write comments on my locker with a Sharpie…the principal acts like she's deaf. When my friend told her she just nodded and said she'd talk to them about it, but she never did. The secretary told me…"

Ollie closed his eyes and shook his head. "Should we sue the school?" asked Conner. "They kind of made a promise to cut down bullying and harassment, but they're obviously not."

Bruce crossed his arms over his chest and frowned.

"Did you show her the evidence about the bullying?" Dick asked. "I mean, it's actual proof that-"

"I did, but she didn't show the police in our school," Artemis interrupted calmly as Dinah helped her stand and Megan offered her a cookie. "It's been a whole month, and, and-"

"Don't worry," Kaldur assured her. "We'll help."

"Guys, please, you don't need to-"

"This is a real crime," Dick interrupted.

"I've been through this before, I don't like seeing others who don't deserve it suffer-"

"Your well-being is more important than my education."

Dinah shook her head thinking how girls really do follow that horrible teenage stereotype. When her mother died of cancer, lots of girls began avoiding her because they thought 'she would give them deadly radiation…' and deafen them like in first grade.

"Hey," Ollie wrapped his arm around his protégé. "You know, either these girls feel threatened by you or they think they're better than you."

"What's there to be jealous of me for?" Artemis choked. "My father and sister walked out on me and my mom's in a wheelchair!"

"Well," he said clearing his throat. "That's an expensive school to go to, the academy, isn't it?"

"Yeah," she replied dully.

"I know you and your mom don't have a lot of money, but how did you get in…"

"Some stranger applied me for a scholarship-"

"See!" he interrupted as she wiped the back of her hand against her tears. "You earned a scholarship from an anonymous person! That's something they should be jealous of!"

"Ollie…" Dinah began cautiously.

"And you know what else?" he added. "My parents were so wealthy that when they died I inherited their fortune. I kind of bragged about it to all my friends, so they pushed me off a boat."

Despite the amount of torture in her mind, Artemis was surprised to find herself laughing. "Really?" she asked.

He sighed. "Yeah, that's true."

The young archer had to admit she felt somewhat better talking about it. Ollie patted her shoulder and motioned his lover. "Dinah, help her train. I need to talk to the team."

* * *

><p>"What's going on?" she asked Bette, who looked like she was going to whine. The principal spat something over the announcements, but she could not hear a thing. The girls walked in and pointed, though luckily, the teacher was there silently taking attendance.<p>

"Assembly," she groaned. "They take FOREVER!"

The assembly was between second and third period, so they had shorten periods and hurried to the auditorium. Bette followed Artemis and sat in the far back corner.

When all the commotion ended, the principal came up, greeted the students and mentioned something about bullying. Artemis dozed off nervous until the principal shrieked, "Here is the CEO of Queen Industries, Mr. Oliver Queen!"

Artemis gasped. She recognized the beard and the face and the carefully combed hair. "Hey, kids," he greeted, "how is everyone today?"

Bette mumbled as everyone cheered 'good.'

"What's wrong, people, you forget your morning coffee?" he boomed. The audience laughed. "Come on, how are we this morning?"

"GOOD!"

"Well," Bette mumbled.

"Wow!" Ollie examined. "You're as loud as my wife!"

The audience laughed.

"Now today we're going to be talking about bullying and harassment. Can anyone tell me some form of bullying?"

After coming up with 'physical,' 'verbal,' and 'emotional,' ("Wow, you kids are smart!"), Ollie grinned. "Exactly. Now, many reasons why people intimidate others is either for power, revenge, or popularity, all of which people use as fuel to boost their own self-esteem not knowing it's the wrong oil for your car. When you harass a peer, you are unaware you are damaging your own reputation. Let's watch a few plays, kiddos."

He walked to the side and a familiar redhead was walking beside a girl with wavy black hair, dressed in formal clothing. A familiar dark-skinned boy with a baseball cap was sitting on a bench listening to an iPod and reading a newspaper.

"Hey, Lacey," Wally whispered, "check this out."

"What, Jason?" Zatanna asked holding his arm. The freshman boy tensed.

Wally snuck up behind Kal and pushed him off the bench. He and Zatanna laughed evilly as the newspaper flew around. "Hey, Khary," Wally sneered, "are you having fun reading about your black relatives snorting drugs and raping people?" Zatanna snorted.

Kal sighed and struggled to retrieve his paper. "You know as I know, Jason-"

"Hey, Lacey," Wally interrupted, "check it out! The raw brownie is trying to talk to me!"

He and the girl laughed.

"Now freeze!" Ollie jumped as the actors froze. "Now, how many of you noticed Jason was making fun of Khary because of his skin color?"

Every hand rose.

"Excellent," Ollie said. "We make fun of our classmates for stupid things like their skin color! What difference does it make-you still see these people in Honors Society, debate teams, valedictorians, Ivy League schools…can you imagine how silly this is? Let's watch another."

Wally and the other two walked off stage, but Wally appeared beside a perplexed Conner. "Oh wait," Ollie paused. "I need another volunteer for this! Who'd like to volunteer with me?"

Everyone but Artemis and Bette begged. "Hum, how about you-the tiny one with black hair."

The freshman in front of Artemis scampered down the auditorium and onto the stage. "Now, what's your name, shorty?"

The boy laughed. "It's Richard," he said.

"Richard, hum, let's have you and Danica"- Megan walked in-"walk around talking. Then Jason and Nolan will speak their lines and you have to flow along with the act. Got it?"

"Yep," he cheered. "Can my name be Jesse? I want to protect my 'identity'." Wally and Conner sat on the bench while Richard and Megan walked around. "Hey, Jesse," she began, "how was that pizza party after the game?" she asked.

"OMG, it was brilliant," he said. "I mean-"

"Danica!" Conner shouted. He jumped off the bench and stomped toward his girl. "What are you doing talking to him?"

"He's a loser," Wally added. "He's the teacher's pet!"

Megan looked confused. Suddenly Conner grabbed Richard's shoulder and pretended to punch him in the chest. "What are you doing with my girl, huh, punk? She's mine, go find your own, oh wait, no girl ever wants to go out with you, loser!"

Richard winced as he threw him to the ground and pretended to stamp in his back.

"Nolan!" Megan winced.

"Don't worry, beautiful," Wally said casually slipping his arm around her. "That dork should know better. You belong with us."

"Jason-"

Wally slammed his lips against hers.

The auditorium awed.

Conner's shoulders tensed.

"Uh oh," Ollie whispered. "Freeze!"

Reluctantly Conner obeyed.

"So now Jason and Nolan were beating up Jesse because he was talking to Nolan's girlfriend, right? Well, that's wrong-Danica can have more friends, and she doesn't belong to Nolan! What else is wrong here?"

Wally rose his hand. "Well, they told her to stay away from him because he was a loser."

"Good job, kiddo," Ollie smiled. "Jason and Nolan are jealous of him due to his grades. We use that term with bookworms, don't we?"

The audience agreed.

"Let me tell you a bit of a personal story. When I'm not working at my job, I teach an archery course at the Y, so I decided to host a contest at a Navajo reservation. There's this little redhead boy named Crispin. His father died when he was young and he didn't know his mother."

Artemis realized who he was talking about and leaned forward.

"He came in second place because these kids spooked him at the contest, so I let him show me how he targeted a rabbit. He told me he grew up with a medicine chief who taught him everything about archery to the point where he competed against the older tribal members."

He sighed sadly. "Unfortunately, he was so good at it that he grew up with few friends-because of his pale skin and because he was better at a talent they were raised to follow. They chased him around the forest, grinded his face in the ground, actually tried to drown him, and they would steal his clothes and eat his food even when he fought them.

"So we go back to the reservation and the kids jeer at him. I gather them up and pin them to the ground and threaten that they will be punished and told on if they continue hurting him again. That didn't happen, though, because his guardian died and I adopted him as my own. Now he's in college studying criminal justice and still visits my wife and me."

Wally smiled sadly and Richard sighed.

"The moral of that lesson-be careful who you waste your time bullying because it's usually the bullied ones who accomplish something. If you are already harassing somebody, stop. It's the first way to destroy your life. Have a nice day."

The audience, including Artemis, excluding Bette, stood up and clapped, the former feeling better about herself because her mentor made a difference.

* * *

><p>When lunch started, everyone walked in shocked to see the CEO of Queen Industries and his little actors eating raviolis and drinking iced tea at a table. Every packer ran and argued to sit with them and buyers whined about waiting in line.<p>

Much to Arty's surprise Conner and Wally were trading bits of candy.

"Wow," she said. She walked forward and waved to her secret mentor, who smiled and secretly waved back.

"Sorry, Crocodile," Madison huffed pushing past her. "I want to be an industrialist when I grow older, so I deserve to meet him."

Artemis rolled her eyes as she and Bette sat together. "What did you think of it?" Bette asked.

Artemis opened her lunch bag and smirked wider when she saw a small container and note taped to the lid. My famous Chili-your uncle.

She opened the lid and burned her mouth with the onions and hot peppers.

"Hello, ladies," Wally zoomed over and leaned towards Bette. "Enjoying your lunch?"

"Yeah," Artemis said, her eyes watering yet amused at Bette's flushing face.

"Can I interest you in a hot cookie or a brownie?"

Bette flushed harder. Arty rolled her eyes amused and thumped two dollars at his chest. "Two chocolate chunk, Jason," she laughed.

"MY treat," he said pushing her money away and scribbling down the order of treats down to the snack bar. Artemis smiled. "What do you think, Bette?"

The girl swallowed.

Wally handed her two cookies and sat beside her. Every girl eyes him owlishly. "So how did you enjoy the program, blondie?"

"I liked it," she said thinking how much she admired her mentor more.

"Personal question," he said. "Have you ever been bullied?"

He slid a note onto her lap that said _Don't worry about this._

"Yes," she said knowing he was going to do something. Bette timidly picked at one cookie as Artemis pointed out Alex and the other girls.

"Thank you," he said as he took her cookie and hurried back to the table and whispered something in Ollie's ear. The blond nodded and stood up. "All right, kiddos, you enjoying your lunch?"

"Yeah!" the students cheered.

"And how many of you liked our show?"

The entire audience roared.

Ollie smiled and bowed. "Thank you, thank you. Now, the actors here would like to share their deal in the bullying business. Jason, were you ever a victim or a predator?"

Wally licked his lips around the cookie crumbs. "I was a victim," he said. The cafeteria moaned. "I was-and still am-skinny, nerdy, and hyper. It was so horrible I could not go home-I went to my aunt's house every day and tried to get sick so my mom wouldn't sent me to school. Eventually, my family sent me to another school." He looked down. "I regret it then, because I wish I could have learned how to defend myself without getting into trouble."

Bette looked eager.

"So," Zatanna began leaning forward, "if you could go back in time and fix it, how would you have helped yourself?"

Wally shrugged. "I wish I admitted to Mom and Dad what was happening and asked my father to help me defend myself. That was kind of a cowardly act, but playing the bully kind of made me think about the harassment. I liked playing it because I did not literally hurt anybody while getting the anger out."

Several people clapped.

Kaldur and Conner stood up and looked around the cafeteria. "Hey, you, you, you, and you," they said pointing to different people. "Can you come up here?"

Artemis's heart skipped a beat as Amanda, Madison, Danielle, and Alex walked forward. Megan sipped her iced tea and smiled. "Do you girls have any experience in bullying?"

"Uh…"

"Thank you, that is all we need to know," Conner said.

"What-"

"Hey, I know them!" a voice screamed. The room turned to Richard holding a tray of steamy raviolis. "They actually started a rumor that my parents were drug addicts and died, which is why I almost dropped out!"

The table of heroes gasped and turned to the girls, who were now stuttering. "Is that true?" Zatanna asked.

"Well…"

Ollie shook his head. "It's all right-I'm friends with his guardian, so I know all about it."

He gave a sad smile. "And I'm really sorry about this…"

Megan winked at Wally, who reached forward and snatched Amanda's backpack from her hand. "Hey! Jason, what do you-"

Wally zipped the patch open and pulled out several books, binders, and notebooks. "I guess now I should be checking your homework before you turn it in for a final grade."

Amanda flushed horribly. "Oh, what's wrong? You afraid I'm going to share the fact that you stole somebody else's homework to the world? Hey, you! The one with the blond ponytail! What's your name?"

"A-Artemis," the now flustered girl said calmly.

"You in her math class?" he asked.

"No, but we have the same teacher and finish the same assignments."

Wally brushed that aside. "Give me your homework."

Pink-faced, the girl pulled out a notebook with Luna Lovegood on the cover and handed it over. Wally skimmed through both piles of paper and held up the notebook with scarlet nail polish. "Did you guys know that these are identical in almost everything? Oh wait, I forgot-this one does not show all the work! Arty girl, please admit to us if she copied your homework!"

The girl nodded. "Yeah, she uh…"

"Louder, cutie, we can't hear you!" Wally yelled.

"Yes!" Artemis sighed shakily. "I admit it, he"- she pointed to an innocent-looking Richard-"is not the only one these girls harassed. For weeks they were stealing my homework, making fun of me about my family, throwing food at me-"

She bit her lip nervously.

"Well, I know this is a personal question," Kaldur began, "but why do they hurt you about your family?"

Artemis looked down pretending to feel shy but actually braver. "Well, my sister ran away because she and Dad didn't get along"-it felt good to briefly talk about Jade-"and then my dad left Mom to find her. My mom is in a wheelchair."

Megan didn't need to pretend feeling sad.

"And did you tell them about your family?" asked Conner casually forking ravioli.

"No," she admitted

Megan stood up and cracked her neck. "Okay," she began, "which of you girls betrayed her over her family?"

She inspected each face closely and then stopped at Alex. "Hum, you look like the kind of person who has no zipper with her mouth…"

Alex snorted. "Me?"

Megan turned to Artemis, who nodded. "Yeah. We were close in school, and she was the first person who understood about my family."

Alex's face turned pink. "You little bitch…"

The cafeteria gasped and Ollie's hands tightened.

"Miss Stafford!" bellowed a voice. The principal stomped in angrily. "Follow me to my office! Immediately!"

Alex swallowed and reluctantly obeyed. "Oh, and Miss Principal," Zatanna added. "Bring these girls in, too, because I hear they also victimized her."

The principal nodded, though Artemis did not rise her respect for her. "Very well," she said. "Follow me, you four."

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><p>When Artemis walked into the cave she ran to her mentor and threw her arms around him. "Thank you so much," she gasped fighting the urge to cry.<p>

He patted her on the back. "Don't sweat it. I care about you. We all care about you."

"Can I ask you something, though?" she asked setting down on her feet.

"What?" he asked putting a hand on her shoulder.

She paused. "Did your first ward really suffer bullying where he grew up?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it's true. Ask him yourself."

"Why, though, did you say it?" she asked as they walked to their teams in the training stand.

He looked at her once again and shrugged. "I wanted to let you know that you're not the only one on this team-especially whom I've mentored-who felt powerless to fight bullies."

Artemis smiled and ran to her teammates. "Let's train!"

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><p>Thanks for reading. Reviews are welcome, but I will put out the flames.<p>

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><p>Dec. 10, 2011-Thank you to all who have reviewed and added this to their favorites. I forgot to do this, but I guess I should tell my story:<p>

I went to fourth grade with a girl named Alex, and we became better acquaintances via church, math tutoring, and recess. Our mothers took turns driving us to school and the ice-rink, and we enjoyed playing with her younger sisters. In fifth grade, however, she became friends with this snot named Danielle, who inspired her to bully me at recess and between classes. It grew so horrible that my mother wrote a letter to my teacher, who moved my desk and gave us a lecture on bullying and harassment. We never had a class together in middle school.

Come seventh grade, two girls-Madison and Amanda-began riding my bus and made fun of me for no reason on the ride home one day. Madison told me I was 'too dull' to talk to this guy on the bus and Amanda waved a Ring-Pop in my eyes twice. Ironically, we had an anti-bullying program the next day and I rose my hand when Mr. Simpson-who's actually a nice guy-asked for anyone to talk about their experiences in bullying. I told him of two anonymous girls who harassed me the day before, and Amanda attempted heartless ways to atone with candy, a cracker, and a 'sorry sorry sorry' letter that I threw away. Even when other people adore her, I still hold a grudge against her and the other girls.

So why choose Artemis? I'm in the middle between Megan and Artemis (I'm a mixture of both), but I think Megan would have had protection due to being a cheerleader, walking with a ready-to-fight boy who cares deeply about her, and being friends with the other cheerleaders and the guys. Artemis, on the other hand, gave up her friends at the public school and became acquainted with Bette, aka Flamebird.

Thanks for listening to the story behind the story.


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